[NikhilReddy]

Citizens of any country are free to buy products of their choice. However I am really surprised that cars from India mean compromise on quality. How many times have we not read that global manufacturers from Japan or Europe or US had recalled their products for faulty issues. And still its the India's image that takes a beating on quality front. Toyota or Hyundai or Honda etc are not Indian companies. They setup manufacturing plants in our country for various reasons - cost, localization, export potential etc. I don't think they compromise on quality.. nobody wants to.. This is not a license raj era.

Having said that.. ETIOS is one product from Toyota where cost cutting is evident everywhere and there is a reason for this- the segment that ETIOS caters to is highly cost sensitive where customers are not so much brand conscious. That means demanding a premium just because you are a XYZ manufacturer doesn't go down well here.

I am not sure if this is one off problem specific to a set of batch or this is on every car manufactured? Whatever it is Toyota should rectify this problem immediately and fix the problem for all the existing customers free of charge.

[Palio_2005]

i guess this is an one off case. i do not think it is right to start writing about Toyota quality as everyone knows that their cars last forever. i am sure this issue would be rectified,

[rhandle]

I have just posted this thread link of TBHP on

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Hope People do form a group and fight against car manufacturers.

[filcord]

I would suggest that only people who own or regularly use an Etios should give their views on the Etios quality.
The rest of us, Toyota-lovers or Toyota-haters or those-who don't-know-anything-about-Toyota (like me) should refrain from commenting on Etios quality issues. This would give all of us a clearer insight into the matter.

[motorworks]

Unexpected! But I think Toyota being the company that it is will address the problems in a diplomatic way and will not offer a permanent solution. Rather you will see corrections during service but not a recall.

[W.A.G.7]

This is strange! This seems to be a one off case... I don't recollect anyone buying a Toyota and then having problems with it. Maybe, he got the first lemon from Toyota?

They should hear out his case at-least to find out what the problem is exactly.

[drsnt]

On his website there are many people complaining about low FE, missing gasket. Might be a common problem faced by Etios people. People normally react to such an extent when they are really frustated. One person also complains of Clutch failure at mere 700kms in his brand new Etios. Something is not right with quality control at toyota, Missing gasket is not a one off case, it's with everyone.
At my place missing door gasket as in Etios will mean my car will become insect house in a week, my garage is filled with insects no matter what time of yr is it.

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by Zed

Not so sure if Indian manufacturers suffer from an 'image' problem.

Indian made Hyundai i10 \ i20 and nissan pixo's (MSIL A - star rebadged) sell in Europe and I have yet to hear of any complaints regarding quality even in quality conscious west European markets like Germany and France. This is indicative of the capability of manufacturing in India. However, if there are compromises -lower spec material etc - sure, there is evidence to suggest that 'Indian market spec' versions are not benchmarks of excellence. But you need to bear in mind that its about value for a given market. If a large percentage of buyers of a particular model are semi urban customers who drive at less than 120 kmph and are very cost concious (dont want to replace parts) - then a low profile high speed rated tyre for that model does not add value to a large percentage of that target audience.

Im not referring to accessories or low profile high speed rated tyres. Most of the people I've spoken to here complain that the quality of steel and engine in the brand new Indian manufactures cars are inferior to the 5 year old reconditioned Jap cars. While this is heresay, I must mention that the few Indian cars I've seen here, such as Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tata's have been showing their age much more than older jap cars.

I've no first hand feedback on the Hyundai cars exported to Europe and therefore cannot comment on them.

Interestingly enough, Indian motorcycles especially Bajaj are being sold like hot cakes here. They seem to be doing better than Jap bikes or Chinese bikes. And also the Bajaj 3 wheelers are dominating the rickshaw space, with some Tata Ace's making inroads into the markets here too.

[Zed]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

Most of the people I've spoken to here complain that the quality of steel and engine in the brand new Indian manufactures cars are inferior to the 5 year old reconditioned Jap cars. While this is heresay, I must mention that the few Indian cars I've seen here, such as Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tata's have been showing their age much more than older jap cars.

You are right - Indian spec Marutis, Tatas age quicker as they have lower specifications of corrosion protection, reduced coats of paint & protective coatings, grades of platics trim etc than japanese spec cars. What you need to bear in mind is ...

1. The India specified cars probably have a lower selling price (when new) than the Japanese specified cars. The gap become even wider when you consider the high taxes and duties levied by the GOI on auto products made \ sold in India. Pay peanuts, get monkeys. As simple as that

You can find the reverse of the situation when Jap manufacturers launch India spec cars and bikes and the products do not live up to the expectations of the motoring public. One does not have to look far - just see some of the threads under Indian Car scene. Its all about the specification of a given model for a given market and as long as you are comparing a japanese spec vehicle with an Indian spec'd one - the comparison is between apples and oranges. No offence meant - just my take on your post.

2. A car built in India to a European market specification is on par in terms of quality with a comparable car built in Europe. This is the point I was trying to make with regards to manufacturing capability in India (i10 \ Pixo)

[MAS]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

Interesting observation, Im currently in Dhaka, and see a huge number of Toyota cars here. Funnily I dont see any Indian toyota's, so no Innova, Etios, Qualis at all, Even the corolla's are imported from Japan. When I ask the locals, they all say, Indian cars are bad quality, they prefer buying reconditioned, i.e 5 year old Jap cars at 20 lac takkas +, but they dont want Indian cars. Wonder if this is the image of all Indian manufactured cars abroad, and from the looks of this complaint, it seems that the Indian car buyer is indeed being taken for granted with poor quality automobiles.

Lalvaz. People in Bangladesh area always skeptical about products from India. Not only cars, they also do not like to buys chemicals and textiles from India. I was in Saudi Arabia two months back and one of the cab drivers was in all-praise of TATA vehicles. Strangely, i did not spot any TATA car during my two week stinct, but just saw a few TATA buses in not-so-good condition.

[Soccerfan]

Never knew that etios didnt have rubber door beadings? Thats a must want in our country during monsoons

[arun_sharon]

It was an eye opener. Was planning to pick one for my wife. Dropped the idea instantly

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by motorworks

Unexpected! But I think Toyota being the company that it is will address the problems in a diplomatic way and will not offer a permanent solution. Rather you will see corrections during service but not a recall.

Are we worried about Toyota doing something about this issue or are we worried more about the methodology they adopt for the same?
Whether they do a recall or not depends on what kind of a problem there is and how best can it be solved. If they fix the issue for free in servicing, whats the problem in that. They did a similar thing with breaking issue of Fortuner and there wasn't any owner who was complaining. The Solution was permanent!

@ Pgsagar First of all where did Tata come into this thread? Secondly perceptions are made over a long period of time and not just over 1 or 2 cars. In general Toyota's cars are good, reliable and trouble free. The same cannot be attributed to Tata. Yes all there cars are not defective but the overall % of cars showing niggles is huge compared to the rest. And before you start assuming I am one of the Tata bashers who never used there product, well we had a Indica in the house which we drove for a good 60k kms. And it was not the best of experience. Tata's are improving each day and they need to continue doing so.

[Upgrade]

I own an Etios. It is a decent car with excellent handling and great space. But Toyota has lot of quality issues to attend. Fuel efficiency is the major problem reported by many users in the Etios facebook page. I personally have poor FE and rattling problems.

The biggest issue is almost all of their service centers are clueless about most of the issues customers are facing. Any complaint to the call center or the mail id will be always redirected to the service center. So, it is of no use. I would rate my Hyundai experience far higher than Toyota.

[kaks15]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

First of all where did Tata come into this thread? Secondly perceptions are made over a long period of time and not just over 1 or 2 cars.....

+1 to that. I think its innova vs aria that has sparked a debate in the market and now it is more raged towards toyota vs tata, so wherever we see one other has to be present


Anyways atleast now i have an idea what to do in future if my new car is giving me this sort of a trouble or any product for that matter. Hats off to the guy for doing what he did!